"I would recommend the book to those compelled toward stock picking or to anyone who wants to better understand how companies manipulate their earnings. It’s an easy read — you don’t need an accounting degree to understand it — and the insights are applicable whether you prefer to go long or short. . . Avoiding the big losses is more important than getting the big win, and that is the message of this book."

"Mr. DelVecchio, a square-jawed soccer fan who works out of Dallas, isn't a big-name hedge-fund manager with ultrarich clients. He manages a $280 million exchange-traded fund that can be bought and sold by investors of all stripes.

His AdvisorShares Active Bear ETF also differs from other ETFs in the market. Mr. DelVecchio, 36 years old, and his partner, Brad Lamensdorf, actively manage their positions, and they only make negative bets on stocks and bonds. Their strategy is so uncommon that fund-research group Morningstar Inc. believes Mr. DelVecchio's fund is the world's lone actively managed "short-only" ETF."

"The one thing you can say about mutual-fund investors is that they're horrible market-timers," says Leon Mirochnik of TrimTabs Investment Research, which uses investment fund inflows and other data to make investment recommendations.